blood-and-guts

[Victor Steinbok]

Most mainline dictionaries now have an entry for "blood-and-guts":

AHD:
> 1. Depicting or marked by great violence or zeal: /a blood-and-guts
> book; blood-and-guts competition./
> 2. Dealing with fundamental concerns: /blood-and-guts issues./

MWOLD:
> marked by great vigor, violence, or fierceness </blood–and–guts/
> competition>

Cambridge ALD:
> extreme violence
> <There was a bit too much blood and guts in the film for my liking.>

RHD2012/RHUD1997:
> 1.dealing with or depicting war or violence, especially in a lurid
> manner: a blood-and-guts movie.
> 2.concerned with fundamental needs, problems, values, etc.: The
> blood-and-guts issues will determine the election.

FarLex:
> violence shown on television, film, or in the theatre, where people
> are seen being injured or killed <It was all blood and guts. I came
> out feeling quite ill.>
>
> 1. Fig. strife; acrimony. <There is a lot of blood and guts around
> here, but we get our work done anyway. Cut out the blood and guts and
> grow up.>
> 2. Fig. acrimonious. (This is hyphenated before a nominal.) <There are
> too many blood-and-guts arguments around here. Old blood-and-guts
> Wally is making his threats again.>

The FarLex Idioms entry (the first of the three above) referring to
cinematic gore appears to be underappreciated by dictionary editors.

OED has but one quote.

body line
> 1975 /Herald (Melbourne) / 11 Oct. 27/1 It won't be another Bodyline
> series, but the Tests between Australia and the West Indies this
> summer will be a blood and guts battle of brute speed.

But this one seems to be somewhat different from the definitions above.
Would I be wrong if I compare it to "all-out effort"? No stone left
unturned? Or is it just a version of "acrimonious"?

In contrast, compare the rest of the definition to "blood-and-thunder",
in OED under blood 3.d.

> d. blood and thunder, bloodshed and violence; used /attrib./ in
> blood-and-thunder book, blood tale, etc., one describing the murderous
> exploits of desperadoes. (orig. /U.S./) Also shortened to /blood/
> (esp. in /pl./), as in /blood books/, (/penny/) /bloods/.

In fact, the use of "blood and thunder" seems to end, with this meaning,
where "blood and guts" begins.

There is a second meaning of "blood-and thunder" that OED misses.

FarLex (Idioms):
> a speech or performance that is loud and full of emotion, especially
> anger <We sat through 2 hours of blood and thunder and came out
> feeling exhausted.>

The OED entry seems to emphasize blood, the FarLex idiom--thunder (as
in, "bluster", "sabre-rattling"--or, as in contemporary American
politics, "red meat").

VS-)

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